Perception of Risks from Radiation by Faculty and Students of Nagasaki University

Abstract

Although a variety of radiation-related education courses are provided in universities, information on faculty and student perceptions of radiation risk is limited. To obtain quantitative data on this issue, we conducted a written questionnaire survey at Nagasaki University on the perceived risks of 13 health hazards, of which six related to radiation exposure. The respondents were asked to estimate the risk of the various items to health on a rating scale of 1 to 5.‘Living near a nuclear plant’ received the highest rating of 4, followed by‘not using solar UV protection in midsummer’.‘X-ray diagnostic tests’were rated at only 2, which was lower than the rating for ‘ air travel’. Among the respondents, undergraduate students showed the highest average risk rating across all items followed by nurses, and staff and graduate students, with doctors and dentists producing the lowest scores. These results suggest that level of specialist knowledge is associated with risk perception, and therefore that radiation education should be carefully planned to improve levels of understanding.